Suspicious Battery Degradation

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boonjum33

New member
Joined
Nov 1, 2017
Messages
4
I am shopping used Leafs and found a listing for a 2015 SL with just under 5k miles, but it appears from the picture to have lost a bar already. Isn't that extremely odd? What is the likely explanation? Should I stay away? Here is the link to the ad:
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/detail/742745502/overview/
 
Why odd? It depends on where the vehicle spent its life. That dealer appears to be in Arizona. If it as hot as Phoenix or nearly as hot...

We have a "lizard" battery thread at http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=24532. The worst I can recall are at least 1 or 2 3 bar losers.
 
I just looked at the advertisement and the car fax report. The car is a very ear!y 2015 since it was delivered to a CA dealer in May 2014. It appears to have moved between several CA dealers and never accumulated significant miles. It was finally sold at auction. It was probably stored at full charge and recharged frequently while on dealer lots. The loss of one capacity bar with this history is reasonable. It might be a good car for someone with modest range needs if the price can be negotiated down. Except for manufacture date and use, it is similar to mine and I still have 10 capacity bars at 65,140 miles.
 
If you plan to buy it, make sure they put new tires on first. The OEMs are aged which is not a good thing. I wouldn't pay much more than 12-13K for it.
 
Good input all. GerryAZ, that sounds like a plausible explanation, but highlights another issue. If this was shipped in 2014, it might have the pre-lizard battery. I was interested in it primarily because it's a low mileage 2015 lizard battery car. Great info about the tires, thank you!
 
boonjum33 said:
Good input all. GerryAZ, that sounds like a plausible explanation, but highlights another issue. If this was shipped in 2014, it might have the pre-lizard battery. I was interested in it primarily because it's a low mileage 2015 lizard battery car. Great info about the tires, thank you!
Lizard battery began in model year '15. See http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=17168&p=374490. Search for lizard.

There are some who have wishful thinking that some late '14s included it. Maybe, but I tend to doubt it. Prior to all of this, Nissan did make references (e.g. at meetings that others attended) to a "hot battery" (more heat resistant) and there was this post about it being in testing: http://www.mynissanleaf.com/viewtopic.php?p=320754#p320754.

As for tires, I don't know how much one would want to worry about it. My mom's 07 Altima Hybrid (was a leftover my parents bought new in Feb 08) still is on its original (Continental brand) tires. The car doesn't have many miles on it (<40K, IIRC). However, although their area is a warmer part of the SF Bay Area, it's even close to as blazing hot as Phoenix.
 
If is says model year 2015 on the driver door label, it probably has the 2015 battery. Michelin passenger car tires are really prone to sidewall cracking in this climate so I strongly recommend that they be replaced. I just replaced the Continental sport performance tires I put on at 18 months and they showed no sign of deterioration after two years (except tread wear). The Michelin motorcycle tires I use do not seem prone to cracking, but tire shops here only recommend Michelin passenger car and light truck tires to high-mileage drivers who will wear out the tread before sidewall cracking becomes excessive.
 
2015 has Lizard batteries and model year lengths if "glanced" at should clarify this quite well. Now we all "should" know that Nissan tweaks its packs all the time so yeah, there is a Lizardish tendencies for packs in later 2013's onwards but the fact that the 2014 model year was so short and the 2015 model year started so early should be more than enough of a hint that ALL 2015's regardless of what year they shipped, had a Lizard pack.
 
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